Investigation Clears Fbi Counsel

March 28, 1997

The Justice Department's internal watchdog unit found no misconduct or political motivation by the FBI's general counsel in contacts with the White House, The Associated Press learned Friday. But it found he made a mistake in judgment in not coordinating better with the Whitewater independent counsel, said two law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. Republicans on Capitol Hill had demanded Howard Shapiro's firing over the incidents, but those calls led instead to the internal investigation. The case arose primarily from incidents during an investigation last year by the House Government Reform Committee into the acquisition by White House security aide Craig Livingstone of hundreds of FBI background summaries.